Liam Neeson can do wrong at the box office right now, but I’m not so sure this is the best creative period of his career, and it’s a little disheartening to see a once-fantastic actor trade in quality projects for action schlock. I know that having Neeson (Taken 2, Unknown…yeah, a real artistic hot streak) take the kind of roles Steven Seagal or Wesley Snipes would have taken 20 years ago instantly makes these movies better, but should they be given any sort of credibility? Right now, it just feels like generic action films that people are looking for an excuse to watch anyway, then seeing Neeson in them and being like “Oh, he’s a good actor so you know that movie’ll be good” like they’re really interested in seeing a quality movie.
What Works: Neeson does his damnedest to make the movie more believable than it should be. It’s also full of interesting, under-known TV actors like Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), and Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey). Julianne Moore acquits herself okay and Lupita N’yongo is radiant without being given much to do (this movie was filmed before it was known she’d become an overnight star). Also, there’s something about an “airplane in peril” movie that will always work a little bit, it’s the rare thriller that can manage to be cozy and tense thanks to its claustrophobic setting, and Non-Stop (for a while) does pull us into an excitingly paranoid state.
What Doesn’t Work: The film is junk. Yeah, it’s well-made and decently acted but there’s nothing all that special or memorable about it. You’ll probably forget it the next day and maybe remember it with some vague fondness when it’s on the USA network in a couple years but that’s really it. The “bad guy” has a motivation that’s straining so hard for larger significance I had a hard time not laughing at how convoluted it was. Plus, it’s bothering me how grim and joyless a lot of Neeson’s action thrillers are…If someone ever cracks a joke it’s always brushed off by Neeson with an awkward chuckle before he gets back to business. He’s starting to come off as unintentionally humorless and it looks like it visibly pains him to smile during some of the “light” earlier moments in the movie.
What I Would Have Done Differently: In “The Grey,” Neeson managed to pack a broad action movie with unexpectedly deep themes that made for a surprising, subtly terrific late Winter hit a couple years back. I’d love to see him pull that off again since he now has the box office clout to do just about anything he wants to…Why not try for better, more memorable projects?
What a nice review for a movie you did not like?